Govt urged to support SMEs

Sri Lankan business community requests the government to introduce quick measures to revive key economic sectors, in particular the Small and Medium sized industries (SME’s) which were badly affected since the Easter Sunday attacks.

SMEs are considered as the backbone of the economy as it accounts for almost 70% of country’s GDP and provide more than 40% of all jobs. And also, SMEs play a significant role in income distribution and regional development. The impact of Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka has been felt greatly by all the industries in particular the Small and Medium sized enterprises, Rohan de Silva, President of Sri Lanka Chamber of Small and Medium Industries (SLCSMI) told Daily News Finance.

It is a well known fact that the lack of finance has become a major obstacle to SME sector growth in Sri Lanka. However, according to De Silva, the prevailing security situation in the country has hurt the growth of the industry to a great extent.

“In this background, small businesses find it difficult to repay their banks as well as leasing installments. Most importantly, people find it difficult to pay their electricity as well as mobile phone bills as many businesses have come to a standstill following a series of bomb attacks that hit luxury hotels and churches across the country on April 21.” he said. He said further that Sri Lanka needs investments to keep its economy buoyant and to facilitate viability for businesses and also to generate revenue.

Meanwhile, several business leaders in Sri Lanka stressed that political leaders in the country should set aside their differences and work together for the betterment of the general public.

They also pointed out that the government decision to ban the use of social media cites in order to contain hate speech and communal disturbances would precisely have an impact on online business activities and promotions.

In particular, they said it will have a significant impact on tourism and e-commerce, both of which rely on social media.